Sillvog: Ah, you are correct. I definitely did not touch upon that on the last chapter. I will definitely be updating more.
This came out sooner than I thought it would, thus, I will completely proofread it tomorrow and correct any mistakes. It is late once again.
Soft murmurs and closing doors was all Shikamaru could gather of the next several days. His tired mind drifted in and out of consciousness, and every time he closed his eyes, the memories came back to haunt him once more. He wished that he would never have to wake, to sit up once more and face the cruel world, but the land of dreams were as worse as the land of living, and oh, the blood…
His ANBU mind denied the fact, but the Nara had begun to fear blood. Any red liquid, substantial enough to even look like blood made his heart beat twenty times faster, and his head would spin as the dam torturous memories come back again, and again…
When Shikamaru finally came out of his feverish state, the first person he saw was his own dear mother. He almost choked up right there and then on his childhood bed, but managed to hold onto his fragile mentality.
Yoshino Nara sighed in concern as she dabbed cold water on her son's forehead carefully. Shikamaru had been in coma for several days already – the doctors could only explain it as fatigue and chakra overuse, but the Shikamaru she knew better wouldn't allow himself to fall into such a sickened state.
Shikamaru's eyes fluttered open as he weakly took in his surroundings. "Mother?" he questioned, the puzzlement in his voice only deepening the worry in Yoshino's heart.
"I'm here, son," Yoshina whispered as she switched the towel with a fresh one. "How are you feeling?"
Shikamaru struggled to form logical words as several different expressions flashed across his face. "Weak…and tired..." He closed his eyes once more.
"Tired of what, Shikamaru?" Yoshino frowned. She didn't keep a very clear schedule of her son's actions, but she trusted him to be responsible for himself. And it seemed to be going successfully – up until now.
"Tired…tired of everything."
Yoshino opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted as the door opened as her husband entered, along with a masked ANBU.
"Finally found the time off to come back and check in on our son." Shikaku bent down by Shikamaru's bed, gazing down at him. "How is he?"
"You're in time. He just regained consciousness." Yoshino began wiping the towel on Shikamaru's face once more, in an effort to wake him up.
"Hey, Shikamaru," Shikaku said softly. "You alright now?"
There was no response for awhile, then Shikamaru groaned, turning over in his bed, unwilling to face his father.
"He said he was tired," Yoshino said. "Tired of everything."
Shikaku's eyebrows rose. "Lazy as usual, are we not, Shikamaru?"
There was no response as Shikamaru remained motionless. He hated himself for tiring so easily, for being the weak person he was now. And the promise he had made to the Rokudaime seemed so burdensome – but it hung over his broken heart, a constant reminder of his failures.
Shikaku stood up from besides the bed, and Shikamaru heard him digging around for something. "You know, you passed the Chunin Exam. In fact, you were the only one to pass. The Third Hokage would have personally congratulated you, but…he was killed."
At this, Shikamaru buried his face deeper into his pillow. You were weak, a voice mocked him. You could have saved him…
"What I really want to know though," Shikaku continued. "Was what you were doing so close to the Hokage. And on the roof too! You almost got killed!"
Shikamaru remained silent.
There was a deep sigh as Shikaku shook his head in frustration. "I don't remember you being as reckless, son. If you're not willing to respond, then at least you could thank the man that saved you."
"Thank you," Shikamaru gurgled from beneath the bed covers.
"That's rude," Yoshino snapped. "Sit up and thank him properly. Good lord, he saved your LIFE."
"No, no, it's alright." Shikamaru heard Tenzo's unmistakable voice. "He's still tired - let him be."
But mustering whatever little strength he had left, Shikamaru managed to sit up, looking up with tired eyes at the masked ANBU. "Thank you," he said, more sincerely this time.
Tenzo nodded awkwardly – after all, he saved dozens of people's lives a day, maybe even a hundred. "Just doing an ANBU's job."
"You can go back to rest now," Yoshino said, patting Shikamaru's shoulder. But theNarawas already focused on something else. Strapped onto Tenzo's weapon belt was his kunai – his precious, treasured kunai!
Shikamaru almost grabbed it right then and there, but controlled himself. He would manage to get it back somehow – after all, he highly doubt Tenzo planned to keep it.
Leaning back on bed, he tried coming up with plans to retrieve the kunai, but his own body soon betrayed him, and he was soon slunk into a deep sleep.
"I don't know how much I owe you for saving my son's life," Shikaku said as they walked out of his son's room. He closed the door slowly behind him as Shikamaru began to snore softly.
"It's nothing," Tenzo said automatically, his mind somewhere else. Although Shikamaru's parents might not bother with pursuing their son's intentions further, the ANBU was almost sure that Shikamaru was hiding something. He had caught theNarakid looking at the weird kunai he had picked up earlier with something of recognition, and longing. It was almost if the weapon belonged to Shikamaru himself.
Not to mention the eyes – Tenzo remembered Shikamaru's mental state when he had rescued him three days ago. Behind the desperation in theNara's dark eyes, there had been something darker – something that no young child should have.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Yamato." Shikaku walked him out his house.
"Of course, Taichou." Tenzo bowed once and set on a quick route home. But he quickly stopped as something suddenly popped into his mind. The kunai he had picked up was the only thing that connected him to the brief ANBU ninja, Wolf. And with Wolf gone, and the only person that knew of his existence dead, Tenzo was stuck with a puzzling case.
Normally, he would have dismissed the case, but too many weird things were happening lately, and a gnawing feeling inside him prevented him from forgetting the entire thing. Resuming his walk, Tenzo decided he would get to the bottom of this.
There was nothing to do the next day, so Shikamaru walked the familiar path to Chouji's house. But as he knocked the door, once, twice, he quickly discovered there was no one at home.
The Nara decided to check the hospital – he remembered Chouji's arm still wrapped up from the Chunin exams. Perhaps, the Akimichi had simply gone to the hospital for a check-up.
KonohaHospitalwas bustling with activity as Shikamaru arrived a short ten minutes later. He got into line to ask where Chouji might be, but just as he reached the front of the queue, the elevator opened and the Akimichi walked out along with Naruto. Chouji seemed exuberant as ever, stuffing his face with chips, but Naruto – Naruto looked dejected as he awkwardly handled his crutches.
"Hoka-" Shikamaru started to say at Naruto's presence, but instantly corrected himself by calling Chouji instead. Luckily, Naruto didn't catch the slip.
"Oi, Shikamaru!" Chouji brightened almost instantly. "It's great to see you! How have you been?"
Shikamaru attempted to smile, the act almost impossible to him after years of hiding behind a stoic mask. "I'm feeling fine, Chouji."
"That's good to hear! Naruto here is feeling fine too, right, Naruto?"
The jinchuuriki mumbled something incoherent and waved Chouji away. Shikamaru frowned at the action. What had happened at this time that had made his Hokage so depressed?
Then theNararemembered. It had been Sasuke – the cold-blooded Uchiha that had led the attacks against Konoha. Together with Madara, they brought a wave of destruction on the village. He couldn't even begin to gather why Naruto would want to save the Uchiha – Sasuke had betrayed him to the very end, and yet, Naruto held onto that fragile hope…
They reached the end of the hospital, and Shikamaru began walking with Chouji the other way until Naruto stopped dejectedly in the middle of the road.
"He's gone," Naruto murmured to himself. "He's…gone…"
Shikamaru sighed deeply. Although Naruto was still only a kid now, it was his duty to protect his Hokage for life, past or future.
He motioned for Chouji to walk home by himself, and the Akimichi happily complied, turning the other way with his snacks.
Shikamaru gently patted Naruto's shoulder, the way he had done so many times in the past whenever the Hokage had been depressed. "Let's go home, Naruto," he said softly.
He slung his shoulder over Naruto's and helped him walk – one step at a time. Naruto said nothing, simply accepting Shikamaru's friendship as he was guided home.
As they reached Naruto's apartment, Shikamaru was shocked to see the manner his Hokage had lived in. It was one of the crappiest complexes available in Konoha – the paint was peeling and there were cracks all over the roof.
When Shikamaru stepped in through the front door, he nearly tripped over a ramen bowl on the ground. Naruto rubbed his head sheepishly as he staggered over to his small bed in the corner. "Sorry, Shikamaru, I just never cleaned up…" he explained, setting down his crutches. "There's no need to do it for me…"
Shikamaru had automatically started picking up trash without realizing it – it had been routine when he had worked for Naruto as Hokage. Ramen cups, empty milk bottles – you name it, he made sure Naruto's office and room was tidy and sparkling clean before the Rokudaime went to work every day. "It's alright," theNaramumbled in reply. "I'm used to it."
Naruto looked curiously at Shikamaru. "You clean for your parents?"
"Well, no, I didn't mean…" Shikamaru sighed. "How are you feeling, Naruto?"
Naruto turned away. "It doesn't matter. I couldn't save Sasuke."
"Why…why do you want to save him?"
"I…I don't know. He was the first to acknowledge me as a living person, and even, my first friend, a bond…" Naruto continued, his eyes casted towards the ground. "I feel like…I owe him."
Shikamaru stared at the Jinchuuriki. Those were the exact words the Rokudaime had told him, even when Sasuke had murdered Kakashi in front of the both of them. Naruto kept on believing that there was something good, something better in the Uchiha, and for awhile, Shikamaru wished the same…but…
The door suddenly slammed open, breaking the tension in the atmosphere as a certain white-haired sage crashed in. "JIRAIYA TO THE RESCUE!" the toad sage roared as he tossed a huge box of ramen-to-go on the floor.
"Hello, Jiraiya-sensei." Naruto didn't even look up.
"Oh, Naruto. You're still not worried about Sasuke, are you?" Jiraiya slapped Naruto so hard on the back the jinchuuriki nearly keeled over.
Shikamaru started edging towards the door, trusting that he could leave the Hokage to Jiraiya. "I'll be leaving him to you, Jiraiya-sensei."
The sage looked slightly surprised at his knowledge of his name, but nodded in response.
Closing the door tightly behind him, Shikamaru slipped out into the afternoon daylight. He walked several steps back and lifted his gaze to survey Naruto's apartment complex. Part of his duty as Naruto's personal advisor was to guarantee his safety at all costs - and this meant knowing everything about his living quarters, from escape routes to possible building weaknesses which could lead to easy asssasination. But as his eyes wandered, he noticed that the apartments right next to Naruto's were where the ANBU Black OPs lived. A plan suddenly forming in his head, he began making his way towards the building.
The apartments were organized and tidy, unlike Naruto's apartment. There were ten rooms on each floor, and there were eight floors, making a grand total of eighty rooms. He studied the first few doors on the first floor, and at the markings that were posted on each one. Luckily for Shikamaru, being in ANBU had its benefits. He easily deciphered the ANBU language, translating the markings into names.
The Nara found Tenzo's room on the third floor. He leaned his head against the door for a few moments, sending tracking chakra through the cracks to check if anyone was in the room. It was empty.
Next, Shikamaru tried the window. It was slightly loose - perhaps from the years of usage, but it didn't matter. Either way, it made the task easier for him. Every lock had its own way of working and the Nara had had more than enough of a lifetime of experience with breaking into rooms. In a matter of time, Shikamaru had completely freed the window from its locks.
And slowly, deliberately, he lifted the window a crack, peering through it cautiously. He saw a desk full of papers, and an organized bed. But among the mass of paperwork, a single object caught his eye. His kunai!
Filled with joy at seeing his precious treasure, Shikamaru pushed the window just high enough for him to climb through. But just as he was about to put a foot into Tenzo's room, someone grabbed him from behind and pinned him against the wall.
"What do you think you're doing breaking into my apartment!"
~Tenzo